One-man transportation of small boats



July 1, 1969 D. s. WILD 3,453,002

ONEMAN TRANSPORTATION OF SMALL BOATS Filed Feb. 3, 1967 United States Patent U.S. Cl. 280-63 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for use at the stern of a small sunfish type sailboat to facilitate ground handling of the boat hull with its rudder in place at the center of the stern thereof. A two-wheeled frame has a cradle which fits a particular hull station forward of the stern and aft of two tiller bridle attachment eyestraps normally provided on such a craft. Stabilizer bars attached to the cradle engage the stern on either side of the rudder and prevent shifting of the device forwardly on the hull. Gate hooks on the frame releasably engage the bridle eyestraps to prevent the device from shifting rearwardly.

This invention relates to a wheel-rig accessory for "small boats, and the principal object is to provide a simple wheel assembly that can be attached to and detached from the stern of small boats by one person to facilitate the transportation of the boat by one person.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wheel assembly, attachable to the stern of small boats, as opposed to previously developed wheel rigs which require attachment to a hull through a daggerboard or centerboard well amidship, and that can be quickly and easily mounted and demounted by one person so as not to require removing, from the transom, any normally attached part of the boat, such as a flip-up rudder assembly or an outboard motor, thus facilitating quick and easy beaching or launching, as well as making relatively short hauls over land simple and possible by one person.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a handy detachable stern mounted wheel transporter which, by virtue of its foam padded liner, can be used with complete freedom from risk of scratching, marking or otherwise damaging the surface finish of the boat hull, which otherwise might occur through beaching it by dragging across land without the use of such a device.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a device which, although capable of the advantages cited above, can be itself in turn transported easily during overland transportation of the boat, as on highways by its customary means such as on top of an automobile or on a trailer, either in its normal position or upside-down, by being simply and positively attached to the stern of the hull in its customary position.

Representative embodiments of this invention are herein presented, but it will, of course, be appreciated that the invention is susceptible of incorporation in still other forms coming equally within the scope of the appended claims.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be more fully understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a stern end elevation. FIGURE 2 is a top plan view. FIGURE 3 is a vertical section or side view looking at a boat hull with this wheel-rig invention attached, looking from just inside the starboard wheel as the section line indicates in FIGURES 1 and 2.

The main elements of this invention are a simple onepiece main frame 6 which has two wheels 11, one starboard and one port, with their common axle 9 attached to said main frame by means of side brackets 7 and v a center securing screw 17. To the bottom of the main frame 6 are attached starboard and port stabilizer bars 8 which serve the dual function of keeping the wheel-rig in its essentially vertical position, and correctly limiting the forward position of the rig. To the top of the main frame, and on each side of its center, are attached screw eyes 12 and gate type hooks 13 which serve to temporarily attach the rig to the stern of a boat hull 4 by hooking into eyestraps 5 which are permanently attached to the boat hull 4. Eyestraps 5 may already be part of a boat as is common with many small sailboats for which they serve to anchor a tiller bridle, or they may be added simply by screwing to the deck as pictured to facilitate attachment of this wheel-rig.

The mainframe '6 and stabilizer bars 8 have foam cushioning 10, which exhibits elastic properties, permanently bonded to their inner face as shown. The gate type hooks 13 have plastic or rubber protection covering their hook ends. Thus, it can be readily seen that nothing hard or abrasive comes in contact with the boat hull 4 in the attachment, use or detachment of this wheel-rig, consequently precluding any possibility of scratching or otherwise damaging the surface finish of the boat hull 4.

To attach the wheel assembly to a boat hull 4, a person has merely to lift the stern of the boat hull 4 with one hand and slip the wheel-rig onto the hull 4 from the stern end with the other hand. Then both hands simply secure the attachment by inserting the gate type hooks 13 into the eyestraps 5.

The snap closing and locking action of the gate type hooks 13 to the eyestraps 5, in conjunction with the elastically compressible nature of the foam cushioning 10, serves to produce a positive and secure attachment of the wheel-rig to the boat hull 4. Yet, because of the hooks 13 and the elastically compressible foam cushioning 10, a person can easily and quickly disengage the wheel-rig from the boat hull 4 by simply pressing his thumbs for ward and outward 0n the tips of the gate type hooks 13. As an alternate to the use of the gate type hooks 13, it should be understood that any other type of hook elastically attached, such as with a spring or rubber cord, could 'be used to attach the wheel-rig assembly to a boat hull 4 by securing such aforesaid elastically attached hooks to the eyestraps 5. With the wheel-rig attached to the boat hull 4, a person can easily transport a boat by picking up the bow of the boat, preferably by means of a bow handle, and then pulling or pushing the boat to his desired destination.

The convenience of using the wheel-rig simply as a handy means for quickly launching or beaching a small boat without dragging it across sand or rocks is also quite apparent. Although any size of wheel 11 can be used for the rig, the advantages of a wheel with at least a 4" wide air filled tire are obvious for easy transportation over soft sand or mud, as well as for the ability of such tires to render the entire wheel assembly floatable, making it impossible to lose by sinking.

The remaining secondary parts of the wheel-rig which help to complete its practicability are Washers 14, cotter pins 15, and wheel spacers 16 which may or may not be needed to space wheels 11 properly from side support brackets 7 to assure clearance of tops of wheels 11 from both the boat hull 4 and tops of side brackets 7, depending on the hull shape of the particular boat.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for the ground handling of small sailboats of the type having a hull with a stern which normally supports a rudder in centered relationship thereon, said device comprising a frame for receiving the hull, said frame including a cradle portion adapted to fit the hull forwardly of the stern, at least two wheels mounted to said frame, stabilizer means on said frame for engaging internally spaced portions of said stern to restrain said frame against forward movement along the hull, said stabilizer means defining a rearwardly open portion of said frame which permits transporting of the sailboat with its rudder in place at the stern thereof, and means for restraining said frame against rearward movement with respect to the hull, said means for restraining said frame against rearward movement comprising at least two gate type hooks pivotally carried by said frame adjacent the marginal side edges of the hull, and said hooks being engageable with eyestraps normally provided on the hull rear deck for a tiller bridle or the like.

2. A device for the ground handling of small sailboats of the type having a hull with a rear deck upon which eye straps are provided for a tiller bridle and said hull having a stern which normally supports a rudder in centered relationship thereon, said device comprising a frame for receiving the sailboat hull, said frame including a cradle portion adapted to fit a predetermined hull station located between said eyestraps and said stern, said frame including a pair of depending support brackets mounted to the cradle portion, a pair of wheels each of which is rotatably mounted to a lower portion of one of said brackets respectively, port and starboard L-shaped stabilizer elements each of which has one leg mounted to said cradle portion in laterally spaced relationship to the other, each of said elements having an upstanding leg for engaging laterally spaced portions of said stern on either side of the rudder when said cradle portion is located at said predetermined hull station, and hook means carried by said frame for releasably engaging said eyestraps to restrain said device against aft movement with respect to the sailboat hull.

3. A device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said cradle portion of said frame includes inwardly extending upper portions for engaging the rear deck at said predetermined hull station, and said hook means comprising a pivoted gate type hook carried by each of said inwardly extending upper cradle portions.

4. A device as set forth in claim 3 and further characterized by cushioning material lining said cradle portion and said stabilizer elements to prevent marring of the sailboat hull.

5. A device as set forth in claim 4 and further characterized by a common axle for said wheels, said axle having portions attached to said depending support brackets and having an intermediate portion which is attached to said cradle portion to lend rigidity to said frame, said axle having end portions which rotatably receive said wheels at the lower ends of said support brackets.

6. A device for the ground handling of small sailboats of the type having a tapered rear deck and a stern which normally supports a rudder in centered relationship thereon, said device comprising a frame for receiving the sailboat hull, said frame including a cradle portion adapted to fit a predetermined hull station, said frame including a pair of depending support brackets mounted to the cradle portion, a pair of wheels each of which is rotatably mounted to a lower portion of one of said brackets respectively, port and starboard L-shaped stabilizer elements each of which has one leg mounted to said cradle portion in laterally spaced relationship to the other, each of said elements having an upstanding leg for engaging laterally spaced portions of said stern on either side of the rudder when said cradle portion is located at said predetermined hull station, and means carried by said frame for releasably engaging said hull rear deck to restrain the device against aft movement with respect to the sailboat hull.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,093,386 11/1963 Case 280-42 2,551,040 5/1951 Newell 28063 X 3,271,798 9/1966 Zoretic 280-414 X FOREIGN PATENTS 326,446 9/ 1920 Germany.

LEO FRIAGLIA, Primary Examiner. 

